Wall-mounted refrigerator and peltier effect cooling system

ABSTRACT

A refrigerator is wall-mounted. The refrigerator has a frame with an insulated compartment supporting a plurality of shelves, a front panel covering the frame and having at least one window for displaying refrigerated articles supported by the shelves, at least one door to access the articles supported by the shelves, a cooling unit, an air recirculation system having a warm air collector for collecting warm air and having a warm air channel for directing air through the cooling unit to provide cooled air, at least one fan, and a cold air channel for directing the cooled air back into the compartment and a mounting for anchoring the refrigerator with respect to a wall. The thermal efficiency of the refrigerator may be enhanced as described herein.

The present application claims priority of the U.S. provisionalapplication 62/363,768 filed on Jul. 18, 2016.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates to wall-mounted and/or floor-mountedrefrigerators, mounting supports and installation supports thereof, andPeltier effect cooling systems.

BACKGROUND

Many traditional refrigerated wine cellars often store wine bottles withthe cork or the base facing outward, in some cases with each bottlehidden in a hollow casing, only revealing the outwardly protruding heador base, each bottle layered one on top of the other and/or one side byside. However, this arrangement does not allow a consumer to view thelabels of the bottles without pulling out each bottle. This arrangementmakes it therefore more difficult to locate a desired name, vintage,blend or batch.

Furthermore, refrigeration units, such as those used to regulate a winerefrigeration or temperature regulation unit, may be cumbersome andclunky due to their large size. This large size may be attributed to,for example, the cooling units found within the refrigerator, where alarge compressor for compression refrigeration is a cooling system oftenused to achieve the desired lowering in temperature. Moreover, therefrigerant used in the compression refrigeration system, once heated asit undergoes a phase change (evaporates: from liquid to gas) requiresthat it be cooled down (condense: from gas back to liquid) so it mayrepeat the refrigeration cycle, also requires more space, as the heat isoften dissipated outside of the refrigerator.

Registered Community Design number 002552570-0001 registered on 7 Oct.2014 by OHIM shows a wine refrigerator in which bottles are stored ontwo columns of shelves with the bottles arranged horizontally on theshelves to have their cork ends staggered and nested. The storage ofbottles is only one bottle width deep and less than two bottle lengthswide. Such a refrigerator offers the advantage of displaying bottlelabels through a front window, and of being of small footprint. Apleasant presentation of wine bottles can be provided in a home orcommercial dining room. However, such a refrigerator has the designdisadvantage that the surface area of the refrigerated compartment tototal volume is larger than for the above-described wine refrigeratorswhich are at least bottle-height deep and more cubic in dimensions. Italso has the disadvantage that little room is left for a traditionalrefrigeration compressor.

The present invention addresses the problems described above.

SUMMARY

One of the less bulky options of cooling systems for a refrigerator,such as a wine refrigeration unit, is a Peltier effect cooling system.This cooling system is far less cumbersome and bulky, as it does notfunction using compression refrigeration or require the cooling of alarge quantity of refrigerant. Instead, the Peltier cooling systemfunctions using a thermoelectric element composed of two semi-conductorsforming p-n junctions. One of these semi-conductors may be p-doped whilethe other may be n-doped. Once an electric current passes through thethermoelectric element, one side of the thermoelectric element cools offwhile the other heats up. The cold side of the thermoelectric element isused to cool off a given system where heat accumulating on the hot sideof the thermoelectric element is dissipated using, for example, a heatsink, where the heat is evacuated. However, the Peltier effect coolingsystem has certain limitations, such as those resulting from the smallsize and properties of the thermoelectric element, thus posing achallenge when the system is to cool or maintain the temperature of, forexample, a large volume of air found in, for example, a largecompartment.

Applicant has discovered that a truncated pyramid-shaped cooling platemay be used to enhance the cooling power of the thermoelectric elementby increasing the heat transfer between the cooling plate and the coldside of the thermoelectric element while acting as a divide andimproving the insulation between the refrigerated compartment and theportion of the refrigerator circulating the warmed or warmer air.

Applicant has also found that a convection system may be used toeffectively circulate cooled air through a refrigerated compartment,where the cooled air circulates through channels incorporated into therefrigerator's side doors, these channels possessing openings forallowing the cooled air to be distributed along the length of therefrigerated compartment, while reducing mixing between the warm andcooled air.

In accordance with one broad aspect of some embodiments, there isprovided a wall-mounted refrigerator having a frame with an insulatedcompartment comprising a plurality of shelves, a front panel coveringthe frame and having at least one window for displaying refrigeratedarticles supported by the shelves. The refrigerator also has at leastone door to access the articles supported by the shelves and a coolingunit. Furthermore, the refrigerator has an air recirculation systemhaving a warm air collector for collecting warm air and having a warmair channel for directing air through the cooling unit to provide cooledair, at least one fan, and a cold air channel for directing the cooledair back into the compartment. The openings of the cold air channel mayallow for more cold air to be released into the insulated compartmentnear the middle of the cold air channel than towards the extremities ofthe cold air channel. The refrigerator also has a mounting for anchoringthe refrigerator with respect to a wall. The thermal efficiency of therefrigerator is enhanced by at least one of the following. First, theshelves have staggered shelves with a conformed bottle-support surfacefor supporting sides of horizontally disposed bottles, where the shelvesextend partly across the compartment leaving a central portion of thecompartment free of any shelves so that in use necks of bottles can benested within the compartment. The warm air collector is located at acentral top portion of the compartment and the cold air channel with twochannels is located at the vertical lateral sides of the compartment.The two channels have openings for directing cold air inwardly towardsthe shelves for cooling bottles on the shelves. Second, the at least onedoor is mounted at a side of the compartment to access the shelves froma side, the door incorporating an air channel. Third, the window with adual or triple pane window has an outer pane forming the front panelbeyond the window. Fourth, the cooling unit has a thermoelectric coolingunit arranged above the compartment within the frame and has a lowercold air heat exchanger and an upper hot air heat exchanger dischargingheated air above the refrigerator, the warm air collector being locatedat a top of the compartment in direct communication with the lower coldair heat exchanger.

Another broad aspect of some embodiments is a refrigerator where thecooling is performed by a cooling liquid or refrigerant, such as water,where the heat dissipation from the cooling liquid or refrigerant isconducted by an external cooling system, located outside of therefrigerator. The cooling liquid absorbs the heat from the warmed airand dissipates the heat externally. In some embodiments, the externalcooling system may have a compressor and/or a condenser.

The window of the refrigerator may be a dual or triple pane window. Thenumber of panes may also be superior to three. There may also be anouter pane forming the front panel beyond the window. The window may bea triple pane single window with low emissivity glass. There may be aspace between panes filled with an inert gas. The gas may be composed ofone of krypton, argon or a combination thereof.

The refrigerator may also have a light source in the refrigerator'scompartment for illuminating articles supported by the refrigerator'sshelves in the compartment. The refrigerator may also have a sensor fordetecting the presence of a person in front of the refrigerator tocontrol a switch to turn on the light source. The sensor for detectingthe presence of a person may be a microwave sensor.

The refrigerator may also have a fault detection device. As such, therefrigerator may have an insolation sensor for detecting an intensity oflight incident into the refrigerator's compartment and a user warningand/or event logging module responsive to the insolation sensor. Therefrigerator may also have an interior temperature sensor for detectinga temperature in the compartment and a user warning and/or event loggingmodule responsive to the interior sensor for providing information abouta temperature of the compartment over time. Moreover, the refrigeratormay have an exterior temperature sensor for detecting an ambienttemperature. The user warning and/or event logging module is furtherresponsive to the exterior temperature sensor to provide an indicationas to a cause for failure to maintain a temperature of the compartmentdue to an unacceptable rise in ambient temperature.

In some embodiments, the refrigerator may have a sheet neighboring atleast a part of the cooling unit and configured to prevent watercondensed due to the cooling unit's cooling effect from accumulating inthe insulated compartment. The sheet may be a geotextile material.

Another broad aspect of some embodiments is a floor-mountedrefrigerator. The floor-mounted refrigerator is anchored to the floorusing an anchoring foot. The floor-mounted refrigerator may have atleast one window display located on at least one face of therefrigerator. The refrigerator may have at least two window displays,where at least one of the at least two window displays is located oneither face of the refrigerator.

Another broad aspect of some embodiments is a thermoelectric coolingunit which has a thermoelectric element with a lower cold side and anupper hot side. The cooling unit also has a heat sink coupled to theupper hot side, the heat sink including a sealed chamber with a workingfluid for dissipating heat generated from the hot side of thethermoelectric element to heat discharge fins disposed above the upperhot side. Furthermore, the cooling unit includes an ambient air duct andfan arranged to blow ambient air across the heat discharge fins. Also,the cooling unit has a cooling plate shaped into at least one truncatedpyramid coupled at a pyramid top side to the lower cold side of thethermoelectric element. Moreover, the cooling unit has cooling finsextending downwardly from the cooling plate at a pyramid base bottomside.

The cooling unit may have between three to seven thermoelectricelements, where each of these elements is associated with a heat sinkand a truncated pyramid of a cooling plate.

Another broad aspect of some embodiments is a support device for awall-mounted refrigerator. The support device has track brackets mountedto a wall for receiving a set of guides incorporated to the rear of thewall-mounted refrigerator. Once the guides are slid into the trackbrackets, the track brackets prevent movement of the refrigerator alongtwo of three of axes x, y and z, wherein the refrigerator may still movevertically along the wall. The support device also has pedestal supportwith an adjustable height for receiving the vertical weight of therefrigerator. The pedestal support may have a cavity for receiving acable of the refrigerator.

Another broad aspect of some embodiments is a lateral door of arefrigerator running along the length of the refrigerated compartmentrefrigerator. The lateral door has a channel for passing air cooled by acooling unit of the refrigerator and for coupling to a channel of thecooling unit. The lateral door's channel has openings for distributingair along the length the refrigerated compartment. The air distributedin this channel may be cooled air. Alternatively, the air distributed inthis channel may be warmed air.

Another broad aspect of some embodiments is a temporary installationdevice for a wall-mounted refrigerator. The temporary installationdevice has two feet, each foot having a receiving means for receiving alateral portion of the refrigerator's base and stabilizing thevertically-positioned refrigerator. The feet also have a rail forreceiving the refrigerator and for allowing the refrigerator to glidealong the rail for positioning of the refrigerator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood by way of the following detaileddescription of embodiments of the invention with reference to theappended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an oblique view of a wall-mounted or floor-mountedrefrigerator having a shallow depth and one or more display windows fordisplaying cooled items.

FIG. 2 is a side oblique view of the upper part of a wall-mounted orfloor-mounted refrigerator have a shallow depth and one or more displaywindows for displaying cooled items.

FIG. 3A is a flowchart diagram of a set of steps of an exemplary flow ofair in a wall-mounted or floor mounted refrigerator.

FIG. 3B is a flowchart diagram of an exemplary set of steps of analternative exemplary flow of air in a wall-mounted or floor mountedrefrigerator.

FIG. 4A is a front view of an exemplary Peltier effect thermoelectriccooling device.

FIG. 4B is as side view of an exemplary Peltier effect thermoelectriccooling device.

FIG. 5 is a top-down view of an exemplary cooling plate of a Peltiereffect thermoelectric cooling system.

FIG. 6A is a side-oblique view of an exemplary display of a wall-mountedor floor-mounted refrigerator.

FIG. 6B is an oblique back view of an exemplary display of awall-mounted or floor-mounted refrigerator.

FIG. 7 is an oblique view of another exemplary display of a wall-mountedor floor-mounted refrigerator.

FIG. 8A is a side view of an exemplary plurality of shelves of anexemplary refrigerator.

FIG. 8B is a front view of an exemplary plurality of shelves of anexemplary refrigerator.

FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary fault detectionsystem of an exemplary refrigerator.

FIG. 10 is an oblique view of exemplary installation supports used toinstall an exemplary wall-mounted or floor-mounted refrigerator.

FIG. 11 is an oblique bottom-back view of an exemplary refrigerator.

FIG. 12 is a side cross-sectional view of an exemplary Peltier effectthermoelectric cooling device.

FIG. 13 is a front-side perspective view of a portion of an exemplaryrefrigerator with an exemplary air channel having openings that are notequally spaced apart.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A first aspect of the present embodiment relates to a wall-mounted orfloor mounted refrigerator having a shallow depth and one or moredisplay windows for displaying cooled items. The appearance of such arefrigerator is known from Registered Community Design number002552570-0001 registered on Jul. 10, 2014 by OHIM. In a preferredembodiment, the refrigerator is a refrigerated wine cellar, but may alsobe a refrigeration unit for any kind of bottled or canned beverages,such as, for example, soft-drinks, sparkling wine and beer, or desserts,such as fruit, slices of pies, etc.

Reference is now made to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exemplary embodimentof a wall-mounted or floor-mounted refrigerator 100. The refrigerator100 includes a display area 110 for showing the contents of therefrigerator 100 on a first panel of the refrigerator 100. The displayarea 110 may comprise a full transparent window. In some embodiments,only portions of the display area 110 may be transparent, for example,where these portions are for showing labels of bottles cooled in therefrigerator 100. This can help improve insulation of the refrigeratorsince the non-window portions of the area 110 can provide for betterinsulating. The display area 110 may be made of, for example, glass oracrylic. In an alternative embodiment, where the refrigerator is mountedto the floor on, for example, a large pedestal to prevent therefrigerator from collapsing either forwards or backwards, therefrigerator may have a dual display window, one display window oneither face or panel of the refrigerator where the refrigerated itemsare visible from either side of the refrigerator, such as from the frontand the back.

The refrigerator 100 also comprises a cooling unit 140. In a preferredembodiment, the cooling unit 140 is located at the top of therefrigerator 100 to help with exhausting warm air, although the coolingunit 140 can be arranged at other locations within the refrigerator 100.The cooling unit 140 may be a Peltier effect cooling apparatus asfurther described below, a conventional compressor-based refrigerationunit, or a replaceable latent heat storage module.

The refrigerator 100 also comprises one or two side doors 120 on eitherside of the refrigerator 100. In FIG. 1, these side doors 120 are shownopen. In a preferred embodiment, the side doors 120 open laterally awayfrom the refrigerator 100 towards the rear of the refrigerator 100,using, for example, a hinge mechanism. Alternatively, in otherembodiments, the side doors 120 may open in other ways such as bysliding open, using, for example, a set of rails. The side doors 120 caneach comprise a cold air channel 130 for passing cold air anddistributing the cold air along the length of the refrigerator 100through openings found along the channel 130. In a preferred embodiment,these openings are vents. In other embodiments, the openings can be, forexample, perforations, small holes or a grid. At an open top portion ofthe channel 130, when the door 120 is closed, a cold air channel 132from cooling unit 140 is coupled. In the arrangement of FIG. 2, thiscold air coupling is done from a top of the channel 130, however, itcould also be a coupling from a side port into a top of channel 130.Gasket seals are optional for this coupling. However, the gasket sealsmay improve coupling efficiency.

The depth 150 of the refrigerator 100 may be inferior to the width 151of the refrigerator 100. The width 151 may be sufficiently large tocontain bottled wine, for example when the bottles are lying on oneside, where the head and the base of each bottle point either towards oraway from each of the doors 120. In this example, the side doors 120 maybe slender in order to match the depth 150 of the refrigerator 100. Theslender side doors 120 allow for minimal cooled air to mix with thewarmer ambient air when a side door 120 is opened in order to, forexample, remove or add a refrigerated item.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 shows a close-up of an exemplaryside door 120 that is opened laterally. Each of side doors 120 may havea cold air channel 130 for channeling the air cooled by the cooling unit140. Each of the channels 130 may have a series of openings 135 alongthe channel 130 for passing the cooled air as described above. Thecooled air may be distributed along the channel 130 through the openings135 in order to cool the entirety of the refrigerated space containingthe refrigerator items. FIG. 2 also shows a plurality of shelves 136which are used to support the refrigerated items, such as bottled wine.The plurality of shelves 136 also create a channel, guiding the cooledair to a central opening 137 as the air gradually warms. The centralopening 137 may be formed by the plurality of shelves 136, locatedbetween two pluralities of shelves 136 (which may also be described asthe two shelve racks 136), as shown in FIG. 2. The central opening 137may be a space allowing the warmed air to rise back up by convection tothe cooling system 140 for cooling. This air circulation system, wherethe cool air descends in the channels and then rises at the centralopening 137 of the refrigerator 100, reduces the mixing of the warmedair with the cooled air by separating both and increases the efficiencyof the cooling process. In an alternative embodiment, the refrigerator100 may optionally not have a central opening 137 where, for example,the plurality of shelves is not divided in two in the middle but formsinstead one continuous rack of shelves. In this exemplary embodiment,the hot air may instead rise, for example, at the front and/or the backof the compartment of the refrigerator 100, where the refrigerator 100is configured in such a way as to limit the mixing of the cooled andwarm air (such as through the use of channels 130). In anotheralternative embodiment, the lateral cold air channels 130 may not beincorporated to the side doors 120 but are joined to, for example, therear of the refrigerator, the channels 130 placed in such a way as notto hinder access to the refrigerated items when the side doors of therefrigerator are opened.

Reference is now made to FIG. 13, illustrating an exemplary channel 130of a refrigerator 100 having openings 135 that are not equally spacedapart. In some embodiments, the pathway taken by the air in therefrigerator 100 as it transitions from cold to warm, and warm to cold,may leave certain of the items stored in the refrigerator 100 to bewarmer than others depending on their position in the storagecompartment of the refrigerator 100. In order to compensate for thistemperature difference of the refrigerated items, the amount of cold airreleased through the openings 135 may vary as a function of where it hasbeen observed that the refrigerated items may be warmer (e.g. more coldair released where items tend to be warmer, and less cold air where theitems tend to be cooler). The amount of cold air released may becontrolled, for instance, by varying the spacing of the openings 135 asshown in FIG. 13, where less space or separation between the openingsleads to a greater concentration of openings in a given area and therelease of more cold air from the channel 130. The amount of cold airreleased may also be controlled by, for example, varying the width ofthe openings 135 (e.g. a larger opening releases more cold air), wherelarger openings are present where the items tend to get warmer. Forexample, it has been discovered that, in some examples, refrigerateditems stored in the middle of the refrigerator 100 tend to be warmerthan those stored at either the top or bottom of the refrigerator 100.In these examples, an air channel 130 where the openings 135 allow for agreater release of cold air towards the middle (e.g. the openings 135are less separated towards the middle of the channel), and less at thevertical extremities of the channel 130, may compensate and balance thetemperature differential that may be observed between the refrigerateditems positioned at different locations in the refrigerator 100.

The refrigerator 100 may also have air filters to prevent theaccumulation of particulates on different components of the refrigerator100, such as the cooling fins 143 and heat dissipation fins. The airfilters may provide a barrier at different air passage ways, such aspositioned somewhere along the air intake located at the back of therefrigerator 100 for taking in ambient air, at the ambient air importbefore the ambient air is fanned through the heat dissipating fins,and/or between the refrigeration compartment and the cooling unit 140,such as with the positioning of air filter 137.

Reference is made to FIG. 11, illustrating the bottom-back portion of anexemplary refrigerator 100. The air intake may be located at the back ofthe refrigerator 100, where the air may enter from the bottom-back ofthe refrigerator 100, such as through openings 125 and flow up throughthe channel 176. The back of the refrigerator 100 may also have anopening for providing a cable to be connected to a power source, such asthe opening 124.

In an alternative embodiment, the cooling of the warmed air of therefrigerator may be performed by a cooling liquid or refrigerant, suchas water, where the heat dissipation from the cooling liquid orrefrigerant may be conducted by an external cooling system, the heatsink located outside of the refrigerator. In this embodiment, thecooling liquid absorbs the heat from the warmed air and dissipates theheat externally. There may be a channel, such as a tube or cable,running between the refrigerator and the cooling system for carrying thewarmed cooling liquid or refrigerant to the cooling system and returningthe now cooled liquid or refrigerant back to the refrigerator. In someembodiments, but not limited to these, when the cooling is performed bycompression refrigeration, the refrigerant may undergo phase shifts asit absorbs (from liquid to gas) and then dissipates (from gas back toliquid) the heat. The cooling system may have a compressor forcompressing the heated gas into, for example, a superheated vapor. Thecooling system may also include a condenser for condensing thesuperheated vapor or heated gas back into a liquid. In such examples,the condenser may include a coil for passing the superheated vapor orheated gas and running, for example, cold water on the coils fordissipating the heat. Such a cooling unit may be compacted into a smallcasing. In some examples, where the cooling system is connected to apower source, the refrigerator may not be connected to a power source.

FIG. 3A is a flowchart of an exemplary set of steps 300 a depicting theflow of air to cool a refrigerator 100, where the refrigerator 100 mayhave two sets of plurality of shelves for carrying refrigerated items,the two pluralities of shelves forming the central opening between theplurality of shelves running along the central axis of the refrigerator100. Ambient air can first enter the refrigerator 100 through an openinglocated at the back of the refrigerator 100. For instance, this openingmay be at or near the bottom of the refrigerator 100 as shown in FIG.11. This opening may be, for example, a channel (such as channel 176 asshown on FIG. 6B) that allows the ambient air to travel up the back ofthe refrigerator and enter the cooling unit 140 at step 320. The air isthen cooled by the cooling unit 140 at step 330 a which may be, forexample, a Peltier effect cooling apparatus. The cooled air is thenpushed to both sides of the refrigerator at step 340 a and then funneleddown the sides of the refrigerator 100 through, for example, channelsincorporated or attached to the refrigerator's side doors at step 350 a.The cooled air is distributed along the length of the channels 135, andas the air is distributed, it may travel over a plurality of shelves 136used to carry refrigerated items, such as wine bottles. In an examplewhere these pluralities of shelves 136 are perpendicular to the sidedoors 120 of the refrigerator 100, the plurality of shelves 136 form aseries of channels for directing the air towards the center openingfound between the plurality of shelves 136. When the refrigerated itemsare bottles, the bottles further form with the shelves of the pluralityof shelves 136 tight spaces in which the air is pushed through. Thecooled air, now warmed, moving and directed by the shelves to the centeropening between the plurality of shelves 136, now rises up this centralopening at step 360 a as hot air rises as a result of convection. Oncethe warm air reaches the top of the refrigerator 100, it is distributedalong the length of the cooling unit 140 located as the top of therefrigerator 100 and passes through the cooling unit 140 for re-coolingat step 360 a. The steps 330 a-370 a may then be repeated, as the air isrecycled and cooled once more.

In an alternative embodiment of another exemplary set of steps 300 bdepicting the flow of air to cool a refrigerator 100 as shown in FIG.3B, once air is cooled by the cooling unit 140 at step 330 b, the cooledair may be pushed down through a central portion of the refrigerator 100at step 340 b, where the cooled air is channeled across the plurality ofshelves 136 and the refrigerated items, such as the bottles resting onthe shelves 136 in the refrigerator 100 at step 350 b. The warmed air isthen returned through the side doors 120 of the refrigerator 100 at step360 b, and rises back up as a result of convection through, for example,the channels 130 incorporated into the side doors 120. The warm airpasses through the cooling unit 140 for re-cooling at step 370 b andsteps 330 b-370 b may then be repeated as the air is recycled and cooledonce more.

Reference is now made to FIG. 12, showing an exemplary Peltier effectthermoelectric cooling apparatus that is part of an exemplaryrefrigerator. As shown in FIG. 12, some embodiments of the refrigeratormay have a barrier, film or flexible sheet surrounding at least aportion of the Peltier effect thermoelectric cooling apparatus toprevent or dissipate water or moisture build up resulting from thePeltier effect thermoelectric cooling apparatus as the air is cooled. Insome instances, the sheet 126 may be a geotextile cloth 126, preventingthe accumulated water from entering the display/storage compartment ofthe refrigerator. In some embodiments, the sheet 126 may be a form ofabsorbent material that removes and/or eliminates the water as produced.The refrigerator may be configured to allow for easy replacement of thesheet 126 over time.

A second aspect of the invention is a Peltier effect thermoelectriccooling apparatus. Reference is now made to FIGS. 4A and 4B showing anexemplary Peltier effect cooling apparatus 200. The Peltier effectcooling apparatus 200 has a thermoelectric element 146. Thethermoelectric element 146 may be composed of two semi-conductorsforming a p-n junction. The semi-conductors may be composed, forexample, of doped bismuth chalcogenides (Be₂Te₃ or Be₂Se₃). When anelectric current travels through the thermoelectric element 146, oneside of the thermoelectric element 146 is heated while the other iscooled. The efficiency of the thermoelectric element is affected namelyby the difference between the temperature of the refrigerator and thatof the room. In such embodiments, a temperature differential of about 10degrees Celsius may be achieved while maintaining the efficiency of thethermoelectric element. The cooled surface may be used in refrigeration,by, for example, cooling the nearby air. In one embodiment, thethermoelectric element 146 may be a series of thermoelectric chips, suchas those used to cool computer components. In a preferred embodiment,there may be five evenly spaced thermoelectric chips for cooling a spaceequivalent to a volume of around 110 liters or 3.8 cubic feet. However,depending on the size of the compartment of the refrigerator that isrequired to be cooled, different embodiments may comprise less (e.g. 3)thermoelectric chips or more. Achieving a greater temperaturedifferential between the temperature of the refrigerator and that of theroom may also require a greater number of thermoelectric chips,elements, surface area or efficiency of said elements as the poweroutput of the thermoelectric elements drops as the desired temperaturedifferential increases (the power (W) of the thermoelectric elements isinversely correlated to the desired temperature differential between theroom and that of the refrigerator).

In another embodiment, the thermoelectric element 146 may be onecontinuous element instead of a plurality of thermoelectric chips.

The thermoelectric cooling apparatus 200 also has a heat sink 148 fortrapping and dissipating excess heat produced by the hot side of thethermoelectric element 146. The thermoelectric element 146 may becoupled to the heat sink 148. The heat sink 148 may comprise tubes 142or a sealed chamber containing a refrigerant. In one example, therefrigerant may be a Freon gas. The refrigerant absorbs the heat of thehot side of the thermoelectric plate 146, evaporates and rises up thetubes 142. The heat sink 148 may also include a fan system 141. The fansystem 141, such as a refrigerator air duct fan, directs air to heatdischarge fins in contact with the tubes 142 where the air is at ambientor slightly above ambient temperature, cooling off the heated tubes 142and the evaporated refrigerant contained within. Heat is thustransferred from the refrigerant to the ambient air, the now warmerambient air evacuated from the Peltier cooling device 200. Therefrigerator air duct and fan 141 are arranged to blow air from arefrigerator interior compartment warm air port across the cooling finsto a cold air port. As the refrigerant is cooled down, it undergoesanother phase shift, condensing as it is cooled, the liquid refrigeranttrickling down inside the tube 142 and, now cooled, may then absorb moreheat from the hot side of the thermoelectric element 146 and repeat theprocess. The person having ordinary skill in the air will readilyrecognize that other forms of heat sinks may be used, where, forexample, the heat sink does not use a refrigerant but simply heatdischarge fins and a fan.

In an alternative embodiment, a heat conductive plate similar to thecooling plate 144 may be joined, directly or indirectly, to the hot sideof the thermoelectric element 146, adapted, for example, to the smallsize of the thermoelectric element 146, allowing for a better heattransfer to the heat discharge fins and fans. In some embodiments, thisheat conductive plate may be used instead of the heat sink 148.

The Peltier cooling apparatus 200 may also have cooling fins 143 on thecold side. The fins 143 may be grouped in sets of fins 149. In oneembodiment, these sets of fins 149 may be evenly spaced. In anotherembodiment, these sets of fins 149 may be irregularly spaced or notspaced, consisting of one uniform body of fins 143 evenly interspersedthroughout. In one example, the sets of fins 149 may be placed in asymmetrical arrangement. In another embodiment, there may be one singleset of fins 149 running along the whole of the Peltier cooling apparatus200. In a preferred embodiment, the number of sets of fins 149 is equalto the number of thermoelectric elements 146, where each of the set offins 149 may be aligned with the thermoelectric element 146.

In order to increase the efficiency of the cooling process by increasingthe air exposed to a cold surface area, the Peltier cooling apparatus200 may include a metal plate 145 that may be joined, directly orindirectly, to the thermoelectric element 146. Such a metal plate 146may be made out of aluminum or any other heat conducting metal, such ascopper. The Peltier cooling device 200 may also include a cooling plate144 with a truncated pyramidal shape joined to the thermoelectricelement 146 and to the set of fins 149. This cooling plate 144 may bemade out of a good heat conductor, such as, for example, aluminium orcopper. The cooling plate 144 increases the cooling effect by increasingthe surface area of the cold surface and the amount of air coming intocontact with the cold surface. The pyramid shape of the cooling shape144 is truncated so as to allow at least one thermoelectric element 146to rest on its top surface, the truncated face. In the example where thethermoelectric element 146 is a plurality of thermoelectric chips, thesechips may have a small surface area (e.g. not more than a few squarecentimeters). Thus, when the thermoelectric element 146 is joined to thecooling plate 144, the cold side of the thermoelectric element 146 inturn cools down the cooling plate 144. The cooling plate 144 increasesthe cooling power of the thermoelectric element 146 by increasing theheat transfer between the cooling plate 144 and the cold side of thethermoelectric element 146 by increasing the surface area of the coldsurface for better heat transference from the warmed air. The coolingplate 144 distances the cooled surfaces from the hot side of thethermoelectric element 146 in order to minimize undesired heat transferbetween the refrigerated compartment, the cooled air and the portion ofthe refrigerator 100 involved in dissipating heat (including, forexample, the hot side of the thermoelectric element 146 and the heatsink 148)

In an exemplary embodiment of the cooling plate 144 as shown in FIG. 5,the cooling plate 144 is shaped with a plurality of pyramid shapes 147,the top of each pyramid shape 147 dimensioned to receive onethermoelectric element 146 (such as a thermoelectric chip). In oneexample, the top of the pyramid shape 147 may match that of thethermoelectric element 146. In another example, the top of the pyramidshape may still receive the thermoelectric element 146 while notmatching its dimensions. In a preferred embodiment, there are fivepyramid shapes 147, each for receiving one of five thermoelectric chips.It will be understood that the number of pyramid shapes 147 may vary,depending on the number of thermoelectric elements 146. The number ofpyramid shapes 147 may match the number of thermoelectric elements 146or may be different (e.g. such as where there are two thermoelectricchips 146 per pyramid shape). In an alternative embodiment, the entirecooling plate 144 may be shaped into one single plate, where theflattened top of the truncated pyramid is shaped to receive one singlethermoelectric element 146. The walls of the pyramid shape 147 aredepicted as a staircase, where the pyramid shape 147 is a truncatedMayan pyramid. The walls of the pyramid shape 147 may, in an alternativeembodiment, be smooth, such as a truncated Egyptian pyramid.

In an alternative embodiment, a heat sink, similar to the heat sink 148,may be used to gather the heat from the warmed air rising from therefrigerator's compartment and dissipate it through the thermoelectricelement 146. In this alternative embodiment, the heat sink is coupled tothe cold side of the thermoelectric element 146 and may include a sealedchamber, such as a set of tubes or a heat pipe, filled with a workingfluid or refrigerant as understood by a person skilled in the art towork for small temperature differentials. The working fluid wouldreceive the heat transferred from the warmed air, evaporate, transferthe heat to the cold side of the thermoelectric element 146, condensethen flow back down to repeat the process. The heat sink would also havecooling fins for cooling the warmed air. The heat sink would include afan for blowing the warmed air across the cooling fins to a cooled airport to be recirculated in the refrigerated compartment.

A third aspect of the present invention is that of a display for arefrigerator 100 located on one of the refrigerator's panels. Referenceis now made to FIG. 6A showing an exemplary embodiment of a display area110 or window of a refrigerator 100, placed behind an outer pane formingthe panel. The display area 110 may include an outer layer 111 and aninner layer 112. The outer layer 111 may be of a different dimensionthan the inner layer 112. The display 110 may be a low emissivity glasspanel, where one or more surfaces of the outer and/or inner layer may becoated with a transparent metal layer. The inner layer 112 may befurther composed of two or more sub-layers. In a preferred embodiment,there are two sub-layers. There may be a space 115 formed between theouter layer 111 and the inner layer 112. The space 115 may be filledwith an inert gas such as Argon or Krypton. There may also be a spaceformed between the sub-layers. The space between the two sub-layers maybe filled with an inert gas, where the inert gas may be, for example,Argon or Krypton. The inner layer 111 and outer layer 112 may be made ofa transparent substance such as glass or a polycarbonate. In someembodiments, the display may be triple glazed argon-filled window (orkrypton filled) with the outer glass pane being larger than the twoinner panes, so that the outer pane forms the outer surface of therefrigerator 100, while the inner panes are for the display window. Asuitable masking on a surface of the outer pane provides the finishedappearance for the refrigerator surrounding the display window 110. Inthis masked area, opaque insulation can be used. In an alternativeembodiment, the display may be a double-glazed argon-filled (orkrypton-filled), or filled with another inert gas, window.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is a lighting system. Theexemplary refrigerator 100 may also have a lighting system 116, as shownin FIG. 6A. In a preferred embodiment, the lighting system is an LEDlighting system. The lighting system may light up the refrigerateditems, as for example with an LED projection lamp 116 placed at the topcentral portion whose light reflects from the inner glass 113 toilluminate the contents of the refrigerator. It will be appreciated thatdifferently located lamps or light sources can be arranged as desired.Furthermore, the lighting system 116 may be connected to a motionsensing system 118. The motion sensing system 118 may detect thepresence of a user in proximity with the refrigerator and turns on theLED projection lamp 116. In one embodiment, the motion sensing system118 may comprise an infrared source and an infrared sensor. The infraredsensor measures the presence of a given user by measuring the amount ofreflected IR light from the user. The transmitted IR light can be withan amplitude modulation that allows the IR sensor to filter outbackground IR light and have a better measurement of the reflection fromthe IR source of unit 118. In another example, the motion sensing systemmay be passive infrared sensor(s) measuring heat emitted from a body,such as a person, through black body radiation. Other examples of motionsensing systems include microwave and ultrasonic sensors, measuringreflection intensity and/or phase shifts in the reflected waves byapplying the principle of the Doppler Effect. A person skilled in theart will readily recognize that other means of sensing motion may beused without departing from the present teachings. In some exampleswhere the motion sensor is a microwave sensor, the microwave sensor maymeasure the Doppler shift phenomenon, using, for instance, a microwaveemitter as is known in the art, allowing for the measuring of themovement of a body in proximity to the refrigerator in order to detectthe presence of, for example, a human.

In alternative embodiments, the motion sensing system may be overriddenby a light switch. Once the light switch is turned on or off, thelighting system will be permanently turned on/off, independent of thereadings coming from the motion sensing system. A door switch can alsobe provided to activate the lighting 116.

In an alternative embodiment as shown in FIG. 7, the display area 110may be coated in a material to reduce light-heat absorption such as byusing the technique of silvering, applying a coating or silver oraluminium creating a reflective coating for reflecting the rays of thesun. As sunlight is reflected, so is light absorption and heat producedby black body radiation reduced as a result. In another example, thedisplay area 110 may also provide for transparent slits or strips 114.The transparent slits 114 may be windows allowing for a user to view atleast a portion of the content of the refrigerator 100. Such contentthat a user may like to view may include, for example, the labels ofwine bottles. There may be one or more transparent slits 114 on thedisplay 110. These transparent slits 111 may be provided by separatewindows or by reflective masks and/or insulation masks filling the gapsbetween panes under the masks in parallel and may run along the lengthof the display, as shown in FIG. 7. In a preferred embodiment, there aretwo transparent slits 110, one for each plurality of shelves 136, whereeach slit 114 is wide enough to view the label of a wine bottle when thewine bottle is lying on its side and where the slit 114 runs down thelength of the display so that the labels of the wine bottles showcasedon each of the plurality of shelves 136 may be visible.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are drawings of an exemplary plurality of shelves 136.For example, the shelves may be shaped to receive wine bottles, wherethe shelves may be staggered to minimize space usage for refrigeratingthese bottles. The plurality of shelves 136 may be shaped using athermoforming process, preferably vacuum forming. Vacuum forming mayinvolve placing a preheated sheet of plastic on top of a male or femalemold. A vacuum is then created to remove any air found between the moldand the sheet of plastic, shaping the plastic into the desired form.Once the plastic backbone of the plurality of shelves 136 is formed, theshaped plastic is then filled with urethane foam for providing betterinsulation. The person skilled in the air will recognize that otherthermoforming processes may be used, such as pressure forming orcompression moulding. In some embodiments, the shelves may be wire racksor a mesh.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is a fault detection system suchas exemplary fault detection system 150 of a refrigerator 100, aschematic block diagram of which is illustrated in FIG. 9. The faultdetection device may be used with a refrigerator possessing any sort ofcooling system, but is particularly useful when the cooling system is aPeltier effect cooling system 140. This is because the Peltier effectcooling system has only a limited efficient cooling ability, and theminimum temperature it may achieve efficiently when functioning isdependent upon external factors, such as the temperature of the ambientair outside of the refrigerator, or whether the refrigerator is placedin direct sunlight, where the cooling system must overcome the heatgenerated from, for example, light absorption by the refrigeratorresulting in black body radiation. Thus, a fault detection device may beuseful to inform the refrigerator's user, or a manufacturer, of, forexample, misuse of the refrigerator if, for example, the refrigerator isplaced in direct sunlight.

The fault detection device 150 first includes a temperature monitor 153for reading the temperature within the refrigerator. This temperaturemonitor 153 may allow for the controlling of the air cooling system 140and circulation fan 152 depending on if the refrigerator 100 has reachedor is near a target temperature. The fault detection device 150 also hasa set of additional sensors. These sensors are for monitoring certainphysical properties over time. For example, one sensor 156 may be aphotovoltaic light sensor (insolation sensor) for measuring theintensity of the solar light hitting the display 110 of the refrigerator100. This may be to tell if the refrigerator 100 is exposed to too muchsunlight (i.e. direct sunlight at an angle able to provide over about100 W/m²) such as if it is placed in direct sunlight, next to a windowfor instance. In another example, one sensor may be a temperature sensor154 for measuring the temperature of the ambient air in the room inwhich the refrigerator 100 is placed. This may indicate that thetemperature in the room in which the refrigerator is located is too hotand the refrigerator's cooling system is therefore not able to reach thedesired cooling temperature (e.g. as a result of a drop in power of thethermoelectric elements of the Peltier effect cooling apparatus). Thissensor 154 may be particularly useful when the refrigerator's 100cooling system is a Peltier effect system, where the lowest temperatureachieved by the system is a function of the ambient temperature (thetemperature of the air outside of the refrigerator). A given Peltiereffect cooling system, depending on the properties of the thermoelectricelement, may cool down to a given temperature difference (ΔTemperature),the temperature difference equal to the ambient temperature minus thecooled temperature, ΔT a constant for a given Peltier effect coolingsystem. For example, the Peltier effect cooling apparatus may be able toachieve efficiently an internal refrigeration temperature of ten degreeslower than the external temperature. In this example, if the ambienttemperature is 20° C., then the minimum temperature that can be obtainedin the refrigerator is 10° C. Therefore, it may be preferable to measurethe ambient temperature outside of the refrigerator 100 to insure thatthe Peltier effect cooling apparatus may be able to efficiently thedesired internal temperature.

One of the sensors of the fault detection device 150 may also be asensor for identifying if one of the side doors 120 of the refrigerator100 has been left open for a given period. For example, the door sensor118 would allow for the identification of instances during which theside doors 120 where accidently left open, letting cooled air escapeand, for instance, severing the air cycle within the refrigerator suchas in the exemplary embodiment where the channel 130 is incorporated tothe side door 120 that has been accidently left open.

A controller or processor 151 uses control logic to process the sensordata, control the cooler 140 and fan, issue any user warnings via theuser interface 155 (including any audible signals desired), control anylighting, etc. The fault detection device 150 may also include a memorymodule 158 for storing the readings from the temperature monitor and/orthe sensors and record any faults or events for future reference. Thememory module 158 may also store readings from the user interface 155(such as a keypad or a wired or wireless interface for control via acomputer or smartphone) for allowing a user to input, for example, adesired internal temperature for the refrigerator 100. The faultdetection device 150 may also comprise (not shown) a communicationsmodule where the communications module communicates to, for example, aremote user. The remote user may be, for example, a manufacturer, anowner of the refrigerator or a distributor. The communications modulemay communicate data stored in the memory module to the remote user.Such data may be useful in instances, when, for example, themanufacturer receives a complaint from the owner of the refrigeratorthat the refrigerator cannot maintain a desired temperature. Themanufacturer may then access the data in memory 158 produced by thetemperature monitor and/or sensors and determine the probable cause,such as if the refrigerator was exposed for a prolonged period to directsunlight. In another example, the fault detection device may alsoinclude an alarm signal, where said signal goes off if, for example, therefrigerator is overexposed to sunlight, if one of the refrigerator'sside doors is open or if the refrigerator is placed in a room where thetemperature is too hot.

In an alternative embodiment, the refrigerator 100 may also have ahumidity sensor (not shown) for measuring the humidity within therefrigerator 100. Such a humidity sensor may be useful to prevent theaccumulation of excess condensation where said condensation may bead orfog up the display 100 or jeopardize the performance of, for instance,controller or processor 151. The refrigerator 100 may also optionallyinclude a dehumidifying agent, such as, for example, a silica gel,placed in, for example, a designated compartment such as one located atthe bottom of the refrigerator 100, where the dehumidifying agent may bereplaced once the humidity sensor indicates an increase in humidity inthe refrigerator 100, an indication that the dehumidifying agent may nolonger be as effectively absorbing moisture of the air within therefrigerator 100.

The refrigerator 100 may be, in some embodiments, a refrigerated winecellar, where the temperature of the wine is to be maintained constant.In one embodiment, the wine cellar may have two racks or plurality ofshelves, side by side, for storing wine bottles or other bottledbeverages. In this embodiment, the wine cellar may be dimensioned sothat its width may be sufficient to contain two wine bottles, lying ontheir sides next to each other in a row. In this embodiment, the depthof the wine cellar is sufficient for it to receive a wine bottle, whenthe wine bottle is lying in such a way so its head and base are pointingto either of the side doors of the wine cellar, and so the depth may bejust sufficiently larger than the diameter of the wine bottle at itslargest point. The height of the wine cellar may vary depending on thenumber of rows contained in one plurality of shelves. For example, awine cellar dimensioned to receive 30 bottles, so 15 bottles on each ofthe two pluralities of shelves, has a storage compartment that is atleast tall enough to receive fifteen wine bottles lying on their sidesas described above. In other embodiments of the wine cellar, the numberof bottles stored may vary (e.g. 10, 18, 20) and so the dimensions ofthe wine cellar may vary accordingly. In these other embodiments, thewine cellar may still include two pluralities of shelves within itsrefrigerated compartment as described above, where the bottles would beevenly split between each plurality of shelves. In another embodiment,the wine cellar may have only one single plurality of shelve or onesingle row of bottles, where the bottles' heads and bases are alignedwith the sides of the wine cellar. In some embodiments, the depth of therefrigerator may be sufficient to accommodate more than one bottle orcontainer per shelf (e.g. two or more).

In an alternative embodiment, each of the two pluralities of shelves orshelves may be split and motorized. In such a way, when the side doorsof the wine cellar open, the plurality of shelves may be deployedcompletely out of the refrigerator's encasing and extend outwardly fromthe side door cavity receiving the side door using, for example, amotorized drive. This may allow for the loading or unloading of bottles,now fully accessible. The triggering of the mechanism to move the winerack of each of the plurality of shelves may be, for example, that ofthe opening of the door, the manual pushing of a button located on thewine cellar or the pushing of a button on, say, a remote control,sending a wireless signal (e.g. a Bluetooth signal) to the wine cellar,initiating the opening mechanism.

In the exemplary embodiment where the refrigerator is a wine cellar or arefrigeration unit for bottled beverages, the side doors 120 may offeran alignment mechanism. When each of the side doors 120 closes, saiddoors 120 may push misaligned bottles into place, aligning themvis-à-vis one another. This may be useful when the bottles have beenloaded into the wine cellar but are not properly placed. As such, thebottles may be aligned without there being a need for manual adjustmentof each bottle.

In another embodiment of the refrigerated wine cellar, the wine cellarmay be dimensioned so it may be received in a wall cavity, where thewine cellar's outer display may be flush with the wall. This embodimentmay include, for example, motors and ball-bearing glides to lift thewine cellar out sufficiently so the wine cellar has enough clearance toopen its side doors. This mechanism may be initiated, for example, bysending a wireless signal once a user presses a button on a remotecontrol, by triggering a motion sensor when a user walks into an openspace or when the user pushes an activation button located on therefrigerated wine cellar.

Alternatively, an embodiment of the refrigerator in which therefrigerator is inset into a wall can have a portion projecting from thewall. For example, the room air inlet and outlet can have vents on afront surface (either at the bottom or at the top or both). The accessto the contents of the wall-insert refrigerator can be by a hinged frontdoor giving direct access to the contents on the shelves, or by havingthe front windowed panel mounted to the frame using slides to slide outto expose the side ends of the shelves. A handle can be provided if thesides of the front panel are not suitable to manually grip the frontpanel to open. The cold air supply channels 130 can be part of the fixedsides of the refrigerator in these embodiments.

In some embodiments, the refrigerator 100 may be mounted to a wall. Asixth embodiment of the present invention is a mounting supportapparatus for mounting the refrigerator to the wall. This mountingsupport apparatus may be particularly useful when the refrigerator issmall (containing, in some examples, a reduced load of bottles), such asone where its height is inferior to that of an average human, where therefrigerator may be mounted to the wall and off the ground, in someexamples at eye level, to facilitate access to the refrigerator 100. Inone exemplary embodiment of a mounting support apparatus for mountingthe refrigerator 100 to a wall, the mounting support system may compriseat least one vertical track bracket, the bracket mounted to the wallusing, for example, wall anchors. The track bracket prevents therefrigerator 100 from moving along two of three axes x, y and z (e.g.preventing the refrigerator from moving away from the wall or from sideto side, but allowing the refrigerator to move freely vertically alongthe length of the wall). For example, the track bracket may be a set ofrails mounted to a wall, configured to receive a second set ofcomplementary rails attached to the back of the refrigerator 100. Duringinstallation, the refrigerator's rails may be aligned with those of thetrack bracket, and once both sets of rails slide into place, therefrigerator will only be able to move along the rails and therefore notaway from the wall or from side to side.

The mounting support apparatus may further have a support with anadjustable height. The support may be, for example, shaped as apedestal. The support may have a foot for resting on the ground and alsoa surface for receiving the refrigerator 100. Once the refrigerator isplaced on the top of the pedestal or support, the support's height maybe adjusted as desired, using, for example, an adjustable screw orsliding mechanism, and then locked. Once locked, the support no longerallows the refrigerator to move vertically and supports the fullvertical weight of the refrigerator. The support with an adjustableheight may have a hollow cavity for concealing, for example, a cablerunning from the refrigerator 100 to a socket in the wall.

A seventh aspect of the present invention are installation supports forinstalling a refrigerator 100 to a wall. Reference is now made to FIG.10 showing exemplary installation supports 190 for the refrigerator 100.The installation supports 190 may preferably be shaped as skates tofacilitate the positioning of the refrigerator 100 by allowing therefrigerator 100 to glide during installation onto a wall. Wall mountingholes 119 (see FIGS. 6A and 6B) can be provided to fasten a rear portionof the upper frame of the refrigerator to the wall. As shown in FIG. 6B,an L-shaped bracket 121 may be first fixed to a wall using, for example,fixation holes 119 for passing a fixation means such as a bolt or ascrew. The refrigerator 100 may then be placed under the bracket 121,the L-shape of the bracket 121 receiving the back of the refrigerator100. The refrigerator 100 may then be fixed to the bracket 121 using theholes 190 which, in some instances, may be aligned with holes located atthe top-back of the refrigerator 100, and joined using a fixation means,such as a bolt or a screw. The person skilled in the art will readilyrecognize that other fixation means may be used to fix the refrigerator100 to a wall without departing from the teachings of the presentinvention.

As the refrigerator 100 may have a considerable weight, its manoeuvringand installation may prove to be difficult. During installation, therefrigerator may be transported lying on its back. On its back, theinstallation supports 190 may be installed to the base of therefrigerator 100. There may be two installation supports 190, one foreach side of the refrigerator 100. The installation supports 190 may be,for example, joined to side portions of the refrigerator's base using,for example, two screws per support 190. The installation supports 190may be joined, for example, at the center of each installation support190. The refrigerator 100 is then lifted up so the bulk of its weightrests on the installation supports 190. Once positioned upright, theinstallation supports 190 prevent the refrigerator 100 from tiltingforward or backwards. The installation supports 190 may be shaped asskates. As such, the installation supports 190 may allow therefrigerator 100 to glide around a space to be placed next to a wall formounting and installation. The refrigerator 100 may then be moved nextto a wall. The installation supports 190 may also act as rails, allowingthe refrigerator 100 to glide along the rails, allowing for preciseadjustments in the refrigerator's position along the glide despite itsweight, so that the refrigerator 100 may be positioned near enough to awall for mounting and installation by its sliding along the rail to therear of the installation supports 190. The refrigerator 100 may then bemounted to the wall. Once mounted and/or installed, the installationsupports 190 may be removed by, for example, removal of the fixationmeans and/or sliding them out from under the installed refrigerator 100.

The present description has been presented for purposes of illustrationbut is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the disclosedembodiments. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to thoseof ordinary skill in the art.

1. A wall-mounted refrigerator comprising: a frame having an insulatedcompartment comprising a plurality of shelves; a front panel coveringsaid frame and having at least one window for displaying refrigeratedarticles supported by said shelves; at least one door to access saidarticles supported by said shelves; a cooling unit; an air recirculationsystem having a warm air collector for collecting warm air and having awarm air channel for directing air through said cooling unit to providecooled air, at least one fan, and a cold air channel for directing saidcooled air back into said compartment; a mounting for anchoring saidrefrigerator with respect to a wall; and wherein a thermal efficiency ofsaid refrigerator is enhanced by at least one of: said shelvescomprising staggered shelves having a bottle-support surface forsupporting sides of horizontally disposed bottles, said shelvesextending partly across said compartment leaving a central portion ofsaid compartment free of any shelves so that in use necks of bottles canbe nested within said compartment, said warm air collector being locatedat a central top portion of said compartment and said cold air channelcomprising two channels located at the vertical lateral sides of saidcompartment, said two channels having openings for directing cold airinwardly towards said shelves for cooling bottles on said shelves; saidat least one door being mounted at a side of said compartment to accesssaid shelves from a side, said door incorporating an air channel; saidwindow comprising at least two panes having an outer pane forming saidfront panel beyond said window; and said cooling unit comprising athermoelectric cooling unit arranged above said compartment within saidframe and having a lower cold air heat exchanger and an upper hot airheat exchanger discharging heated air above said refrigerator, said warmair collector being located at a top of said compartment in directcommunication with said lower cold air heat exchanger.
 2. Therefrigerator as defined in claim 1, wherein said staggered shelves havea conformed bottle-support surface for supporting sides of horizontallydisposed bottles.
 3. The refrigerator as defined in claim 1, whereinsaid channels located at the vertical lateral sides of said compartmentare joined to the rear of said frame.
 4. The refrigerator as defined inclaim 1, wherein said channel incorporated into said side door is saidcold air channel.
 5. The refrigerator as defined in claim 4, whereinsaid openings of said cold air channel allow for more cold air to bereleased into said insulated compartment from said cold air channelcloser to the middle of said cold air channel than closer to theextremities of said cold air channel.
 6. The refrigerator as defined inclaim 1, wherein said shelves comprise staggered shelves having aconformed bottle-support surface for supporting sides of horizontallydisposed bottles, said shelves extending partly across said compartmentleaving a central portion of said compartment free of any shelves sothat in use necks of bottles can be nested within said compartment, saidwarm air collector being located at a central top portion of saidcompartment and said cold air channel comprising two channels located atthe vertical lateral sides of said compartment, said two channels havingopenings for directing cold air inwardly towards said shelves forcooling bottles on said shelves, and said at least one door comprisestwo side doors mounted at each side of said compartment to access saidshelves from each side, said side doors incorporating said two channels.7. The refrigerator as defined in claim 6, wherein said cooling unitcomprises a thermoelectric cooling unit arranged above said compartmentwithin said frame and having a lower cold air heat exchanger and anupper hot air heat exchanger discharging heated air above saidrefrigerator, said warm air collector being located at a top of saidcompartment in direct communication with said lower cold air heatexchanger, and said two channels having, at their top, a channelcoupling to said lower cold air heat exchanger cooled air output.
 8. Therefrigerator as defined in claim 7, wherein said thermoelectric coolingunit comprises: a thermoelectric element having a lower cold side and anupper hot side; a heat sink coupled to said upper hot side, said heatsink including a sealed chamber with a working fluid for dissipatingheat generated from said hot side of the thermoelectric element to heatdischarge fins disposed above said upper hot side; an ambient air ductand fan arranged to blow ambient air across said heat discharge fins; acooling plate shaped into at least one truncated pyramid coupled at apyramid top side to said lower cold side of said thermoelectric element;and cooling fins extending downwardly from said cooling plate at apyramid base bottom side.
 9. The refrigerator as defined in claim 8,wherein said thermoelectric cooling unit comprises between 3 and 7 ofsaid thermoelectric elements each associated with a corresponding saidheat sink and said truncated pyramid.
 10. The refrigerator as defined inclaim 1, wherein said window comprises a dual or triple pane windowhaving an outer pane forming said front panel beyond said window. 11.The refrigerator as defined in claim 10, wherein said window is a triplepane single window with low emissivity glass, having a space betweenpanes filled with an inert gas.
 12. The refrigerator as defined in claim11, wherein said gas is composed of one of krypton, argon and acombination thereof.
 13. The refrigerator as defined in claim 1, furthercomprising a light source in said compartment for illuminating articlessupported by said shelves.
 14. The refrigerator as defined in claim 13,further comprising a sensor for detecting presence of a person in frontof said refrigerator to control a switch to turn on said light source.15. The refrigeration as defined in claim 14, wherein said sensor fordetecting presence of a person is a microwave sensor.
 16. Therefrigerator as defined in claim 1, further comprising an insolationsensor for detecting an intensity of light incident into saidcompartment and a user warning and/or event logging module responsive tosaid insolation sensor.
 17. The refrigerator as defined in claim 1,further comprising an interior temperature sensor for detecting atemperature in said compartment and a user warning and/or event loggingmodule responsive to said interior sensor for providing informationabout a temperature of said compartment over time.
 18. The refrigeratoras defined in claim 17, further comprising an exterior temperaturesensor for detecting an ambient temperature, wherein said user warningand/or event logging module is further responsive to said exteriortemperature sensor to provide an indication as to a cause for failure tomaintain a temperature of said compartment due to an unacceptable risein ambient temperature.
 19. The refrigerator as defined in claim 1,further comprising a sheet neighboring at least a part of said coolingunit and configured to prevent water condensed due to said coolingunit's cooling effect from accumulating in said insulated compartment.20. The refrigerator as defined in claim 19, wherein said sheet is ageotextile material.